Fernando Llorente joined Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day but has struggled to make an impact thus far.
Time is a rare luxury in modern football, and new signings don’t get given too much of it before they are adjudged a hit or miss.
A couple of months on from the summer transfer window, HITC is grading the first impressions made by the new arrivals.
Here we take a closer look at Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer-deadline-day signing Fernando Llorente.
When the Spaniard joined from Swansea City, Spurs fans were hoping that they had finally landed on a decent deputy for Harry Kane after flops such as Clinton N’Jie and Vincent Janssen.
But Tottenham’s new plan B may have been poorly thought through.
Llorente is yet to score in 12 matches for Tottenham – although nine of those appearances have been as a substitute and that is because Spurs have not adjusted their playing style to suit his style.
The 32-year-old is a weapon in the air but Spurs play no differently when Llorente is on the field to when Kane is, despite having a couple of the Premier League’s best crossers in Kieran Trippier and Christian Eriksen.
Mauricio Pochettino undermined the signing of Llorente when he started him on the bench for the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, which Kane missed with a minor hamstring injury.
Llorente’s best performance for Spurs so far came alongside Kane in the Champions League draw at Real Madrid.
While his build-up play is an upgrade on Janssen, he looks just as unlikely to score and Tottenham are little better equipped to cope with a long Kane absence with Llorente as they were without him.
Grade: C-
SEE MORE:
Grading Tottenham’s summer signings – Serge Aurier
Grading Tottenham’s summer signings – Davinson Sanchez
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